The present invention relates to a fastener of a synthetic resin to be used for attaching a price tag or label to a commodity while forming a loop of a filament shape or for bundling a plurality of commodities such as slippers, sandals or shoes into one set.
As a joint for attaching a price tag or label to a commodity such as clothes, there has been commonly used a retaining member of a synthetic resin, as called the xe2x80x9ctag pinxe2x80x9d. This retaining member includes a thin, flexible filament portion, a cross bar portion formed perpendicularly on one end of the filament portion, and a flat, board-like head portion formed on the other end of the filament portion, such that it is wholly formed into a shape of letter xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d.
Since this retaining member is far smaller than the price tag of the commodity, it is necessary to assemble a number of retaining members into one set so that they may be conveniently manufactured and handled. In order to hit the retaining members continuously by using a gun type attaching device, on the other hand, they have to be assembled into one set when the attaching device is to be charged with the remaining members at its feed groove. Therefore, the numerous retaining members are integrally molded of synthetic resin for use as an assembly on one joint rod through joint portions.
This retaining member assembly is formed into a fine molding having a comb shape in its entirety by jointing thirty five to one hundred and twenty retaining members on a connecting rod at the joint portions formed on an intermediate portion of a cross bar portion. This joint rod has a length of 80 to 160 mm, and a variety of sectional shapes such as a square, round or flattened round shape are adopted as the section of the joint rod by different makers.
When this retaining member is used to attach the price tag or the like to the commodity such as clothes, as well known in the art, a hollow needle, as mounted on the front portion of the attaching device, is driven to pierce to the back of the commodity while being inserted into the hole of the price tag or the like. After this, a lever, as elastically projected to the front of a grip portion of the attaching device, is squeezed to proceed a push rod in the attaching device to push the cross bar portion of the retaining member. Then, the cross bar portion is fed together with the filament portion, while cutting the joint portion, through the hollow needle to the back side of the commodity so that the price tag or the like is fixed on the commodity while clamping them between the cross bar portion on the back side and the head portion on the surface side.
However, this retaining member causes a problem that the commodity is holed because of piercing the hollow needle into the commodity to bring the cross bar portion to the back side of the commodity. Moreover, the application is restricted to such a thin commodity or clothes as can pass the hollow needle easily. Since the price tag is held by hooking the cross bar and the head portion in the hole, moreover, this hole is widened to damage the commodity if the price tag is pulled. Still moreover, regarding the retaining member, there is a limit that the retaining member can not be manually attached and the attaching device can not be dispensed with.
Because of the type in which the retention is made by the cross bar portion and the head portion, moreover, the retaining member is liable to pass through a relatively small hole such as the button hole of the commodity so that it cannot attach the price tag or the like to the button hole or the like of the commodity. On the other hand, the retaining member cannot be attached to the handle or the like of a bag because it is not of the type in which the retention is made by forming the loop.
On the other hand, there is the xe2x80x9cstring- or thread-shaped connecting memberxe2x80x9d in which a retaining projection (or male portion) is provided at one end of a flexible filament portion whereas a fitting portion (or female portion) for fitting the retaining projection to form the filament portion into a loop shape is formed at the other end. In this string-shaped connecting member, the retaining projection, the filament portion and the fitting portion are linearly arranged such that the axis of the retaining projection is formed in the extending direction of the filament portion whereas the axis of the fitting hole of the fitting portion, as formed to be inserted by the retaining projection, is perpendicular to the filament portion, and such that there is formed on the inner face of the fitting hole a retaining pawl with which the retaining projection is to engage.
This string-shaped connecting member is sold or used as a fastener or under the trade name of xe2x80x9cLOXxe2x80x9d. This connecting member can simply form a closed loop by hands without any damage such as holing the commodity, so that it can be widely used for applications to attach the price tag or the like to the handle of a bag or to joint or bundle a plurality of commodities.
As the string-shaped connecting members are massively used in recent years, there has been developed a device for handling them automatically. It is considerably difficult to charge the device with the string-shaped connecting members of the prior art.
In the string-shaped connecting member of the prior art, more specifically, the retaining projection, the filament portion and the fitting portion are linearly arranged, and the axis of the retaining projection is formed in the extending direction of the filament portion whereas the axis of the fitting hole of the fitting portion, as formed to be inserted by the retaining projection, is formed perpendicular to the filament portion. In order to form the connecting member into the loop shape, therefore, the tip of the retaining projection has to be inserted into the hole of the fitting portion after the retaining projection is turned by 270 degrees to bring the retaining projection tip into a position to face the hole of the fitting portion. In short, in the automatic attaching device, when the fitting portion is gripped by one arm, the retaining projection cannot be fitted unless its direction is turned by the other arm.
When the price tag is to be attached to the handle of the bag, for example, more specifically, the fitting portion is gripped by one arm of the attaching device and is carried over the bag handle and to the back of the handle. Simultaneously with this, the retaining projection, having its filament portion inserted into the hole of the price tag, is turned by 270 degrees from the extension of the filament portion by the other arm and is then inserted below the handle and fitted in the fitting portion supported on the other side. These operations are manually simple, but when they are to be performed by the attaching device, the device is extremely complicated in its structure and is increased in its weight and size to raise a difficulty in the deteriorated operability. On the other hand, it is troublesome to charge the attaching device with the numerous string-shaped connecting members.
Therefore, we have manufactured an assembly of string-shaped connecting members in which a number of string-shaped connecting members are arrayed between two parallel joint rods to form a sheet shape as a whole. This assembly is excellent in its moldability, and the attaching device can be simply charged with the assembly. At the same time, the string-shaped connecting members may be separated for use one by one from the assembly so that the assembly is excellent in its handling quality. When the attaching device is to be charged with the assembly, on the other hand, there has been examined a method of bending the sheet-shaped array into a shape of letter xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d. Therefore, we have developed a method of inserting and fitting the retaining projection simply into the hole of the fitting portion to joint the filament portion in the loop shape not by turning the retaining projection by 270 degrees with respect to the fitting portion supported by one arm but by merely moving the retaining projection forward with respect to the fitting portion.
According to the invention, there is provided a fastener assembly which comprises: a plurality of fasteners each including a retaining projection, a fitting portion for engaging with the retaining projection, and a filament portion arranged between the retaining projection and the fitting portion; a first joint member connecting with the retaining projections of the fasteners through first cutting portions; and a second joint member connecting with the fitting portions through second cutting portions, to array the fasteners in a sheet shape. The axes of the retaining projections and the axes of the fitting holes of the fitting portions are formed normal to the sheet-shaped array plane of the fasteners.
On the other hand, the retaining projections of the fasteners are jointed to each other through first temporary joint portions, and the fitting portions are jointed through second cutting portions by second joint member, to form the fastener assembly.
On the other hand, the retaining projections of the fasteners are jointed to each other through first temporary joint portions, and the fitting portions are jointed to each other through second temporary joint portions, to form the fastener assembly.
An attaching device can be simply charged with the aforementioned fastener assembly in a set and in an array and can be simply disassembled in the device into individual fasteners so that each of these fasteners is enabled to attach a price tag or label to a commodity with a loop of its filament portion by inserting and engaging its retaining projection easily with the fitting portion.
On the other hand, the fastener assembly can be manually used by disassembling it easily by hands into individual fasteners and can be held in the array state without any entanglement while it is being transported or stored.